Far-focus compound ultrasound imaging with lag-one coherence-based zero-cross factor

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Ultrasound Technology
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Conventional ultrasound systems face challenges in image quality despite widespread clinical use.
• Portability, safety, and low cost make ultrasound imaging essential in diagnostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance ultrasound image quality using a novel far-focus compound (FSC) imaging mode.
• To improve contrast ratio (CR) and speckle pattern visualization in ultrasound images.

Main Methods:

• Proposed a far-focus compound (FSC) imaging approach utilizing full-aperture transmission and reception.
• Implemented a lag-one coherence-based zero-cross factor (LOCZF) weighting technique within the FSC framework.
• Evaluated performance through simulations and experiments, comparing with existing methods.

Main Results:

• LOCZF applied to FSC demonstrated significant contrast ratio improvements: 194.1% for simulated cysts, 220% for experimental cysts, and 112.7% for in-vivo results.
• The method effectively improved image contrast while preserving speckle patterns.
• Good generalized contrast-to-noise ratio (gCNR) performance was confirmed.

Conclusions:

• The proposed LOCZF method is an effective weighting technique for enhancing ultrasound image quality.
• LOCZF significantly boosts contrast ratio in various ultrasound imaging scenarios.
• This technique offers a valuable tool for improving diagnostic accuracy in ultrasound examinations.